crescendo
Americannoun
-
crescendos,
plural
-
crescendi
plural
-
Music.
-
a gradual, steady increase in loudness or force.
-
a musical passage characterized by such an increase.
-
the performance of a crescendo passage.
The crescendo by the violins is too abrupt.
- Antonyms:
- diminuendo
-
-
a steady increase in force or intensity.
The rain fell in a crescendo on the rooftops.
-
the climactic point or moment in such an increase; peak.
The authorities finally took action when public outrage reached a crescendo.
adjective
verb (used without object)
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crescendoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
crescendoed,
past participle, past
-
crescendoing
present participle
noun
-
music
-
cresc. a gradual increase in loudness or the musical direction or symbol indicating this
-
( as modifier )
a crescendo passage
-
-
a gradual increase in loudness or intensity
the rising crescendo of a song
-
a peak of noise or intensity
the cheers reached a crescendo
verb
adverb
Discover More
The term is sometimes used figuratively to indicate rising intensity in general: “As the days went on, there was a crescendo of angry letters about my speech.” Crescendo is also sometimes misused to indicate a peak of intensity, as in, “The angry letters about my speech hit a crescendo on Wednesday.”
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
crescendosimple
-
crescendoessimple
-
have crescendoedperfect
-
has crescendoedperfect
-
am crescendoingprogressive
-
are crescendoingprogressive
-
is crescendoingprogressive
-
have been crescendoingperfect progressive
-
has been crescendoingperfect progressive
Past
-
crescendoedsimple
-
had crescendoedperfect
-
was crescendoingprogressive
-
were crescendoingprogressive
-
had been crescendoingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of crescendo
1770–80; < Italian: literally, growing < Latin crēscendum, gerund of crēscere to grow; see crescent
Explanation
In a crescendo, the music is getting louder. There's often a crescendo in a large group of talking people, too. This word comes from classical music, where it's very important how loudly the instruments play. If a tuba is crescendoing at the wrong time, then a quiet piano part might not be heard at all. The crescendo is important in all kinds of music, because volume — how loud something is — is one of the main features of music. If you are whispering and gradually raise your voice and then end up shouting, that's a crescendo as well.
Vocabulary lists containing crescendo
"Bonne Annee," Vocabulary from the personal essay
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National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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"The First Day of School," Vocabulary from the short story
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Paramount’s high-profile lobbying campaign reached a crescendo in late August after Paramount called out activist-actor Mark Ruffalo, accusing him of resorting to “antisemitic tropes” to argue against the merger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
The revolt reached a crescendo when correspondent Scott Pelley confronted Bilton at his first staff meeting, accusing Weiss of “murdering” the show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The recent crescendo of critiques of health messaging is not unfounded.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
Lindzon, also a partner at venture-capital investor Social Leverage, noted at the time a crescendo in the chatter about AI chips, he told MarketWatch in an interview on Monday.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
We all stood there, bewildered at the terrifying crescendo of sound we were now hearing.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
The score, by Raül Refree, feels like an avalanche of crescendi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
“No other tenor did that. And just multiply that a thousand times. It’s crescendi, the decrescendi, all the lovely musical things. He’s just sharp that way, probably the best.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 24, 2018
As to the poets who made it into Dear World, there are predictable highs, plateaux and crescendi.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 12, 2013
This did not prevent Rossini from continuing to write crescendi, nor from being satirised and caricatured as "Signor Crescendo," when, some ten years afterwards, he went to Paris.
From The Great Musicians: Rossini and His School by Henry Sutherland Edwards
Thus, in the coloratura passages of Mozart's arias, I have always sought to gain expressiveness by crescendi, choice of significant points for breathing, and breaking off of phrases.
From How to Sing [Meine Gesangskunst] by Richard Aldrich
At least until Hans Zimmer’s music hits one of its glorious crescendos, at which point the cat will leap off the couch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Taking a cue from nickelodeon piano players, composer John Powell steers the mood with a vibrantly eclectic score of sprightly ragtime, violin pathos and popcorn crescendos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
The song blends delicate piano with impressive vocal crescendos, which Goodrem -- a songwriter, musician, film star and a coach on The Voice Australia -- has brought to perfection.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
As I approach the O’Hare exit on I-294, Dr. Becky says, “More than anything, your kid needs you to become a sturdy pilot during their emotional turbulence,” and everything both crescendos and collapses.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
Still, decisions about crescendos and decrescendos, tempo, and score reading have to be made, but there are endless possibilities for vocalizing and playing these child-centered compositions.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Near the end of the song, Erivo’s voice crescendoes from delicate notes to a strong and resounding riff that moves her audience to their feet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
TAOYUAN, Taiwan — As the batter steps to the plate, the clamor crescendoes, a rhyming, thumping chant, often tailored to his name.
From New York Times ● Aug. 5, 2018
I have heard performances in which this third part of the song just descends into complete anarchy: weird warping crescendoes, cymbal crashes; atonal static from Mars, lizard music.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2015
As the crew struggles to replace it, the storm crescendoes, plucking 's anchor from the seabed twice before it can be secured again.
From Nature ● Sep. 4, 2013
As the conversation, playing with the theme of war, spread itself in spasmodic blurs about the room, bursting in little crescendoes of conviction, pronouncements, suddenly serious and inviolable truths, Dorn found himself listening excitedly.
From Erik Dorn by Ben Hecht
The roars crescendoed when Gauff was introduced before play began.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 5, 2023
Starr Kirkland, an actor, teacher and longtime Realize Your Beauty facilitator, reminded the campers to keep repeating their phrase as the group’s chant of shoddy messaging crescendoed.
From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
As NRP donations increased in the U.S., debate emerged in spurts and crescendoed this spring.
From Science Magazine ● May 11, 2023
Our palms touched, and just like when Rodolfo clasps Mimi’s cold, consumptive hands in “La Bohème,” the orchestra in my head crescendoed into a love theme.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2023
As the song crescendoed, a row of daisies poked up from the dirt and unfurled toward her hands.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Vampire is just as good, masquerading as a piano ballad before Rodrigo unleashes on the titular blood-sucker with a series of venomous put-downs and crescendoing high notes.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2023
On “God’s Work,” a nod to the Christian music she’s put out in the past and the album’s devotional undercurrent, she slides through swelling piano ballads and guitar-heavy reggae, crescendoing choruses and gentle, lilting hums.
From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2022
Musgraves started her set boldly, with the sweeping Spanish guitar of the album’s title track crescendoing as a giant metal heart ignited in flames behind her.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2022
With power rock chords, crescendoing piano, and operatic heights, "Bat Out of Hell" wasn't like anything anyone had heard before.
From Salon ● Jan. 22, 2022
I miss her laugh, the way it starts like a pianists solo, soft and low and then crescendoing and filling the room.
From "Betty Before X" by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson
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